1771
How do other animals see the world?
Take a look through the eyes of a dog, a spider and three other creatures.
New
The latest blog posts to take off on Hacker News. 4,455 posts.
1772
What happens when a reservoir goes dry
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.] In June of 2022, the level in Lake Mead, the largest water reservoir in the United States formed by the Hoover Dam, reached yet another all-time low of 175 feet or 53 meters below full, a level that hasn’t been seen since the la
1773
We found no evidence that Bionic Reading has a positive effect on reading speed
Actually no, the results will probably not surprise you.
1774
What I learned trying to classify abortion access across the rich world
Rich countries are not monolithic. However, outside the US and a few microstates, they vary in a limited range.
1775
We could have universal Covid vaccines soon
Bureaucratic and logistical roadblocks, not the science, stand in our way
1776
Training my sense of CO2 ppm
Posted on Thursday 14 Jul 2022. 1,157 words, 9 links. By Matt Webb.
1777
Why rails buckle in Britain
Why don’t rails get hot in Europe? The truth is they do.
1778
Why wasn't the steam engine invented earlier? Part II
As I noted in Part I, the general idea of using heat and steam for mechanical work had a long and continuous history back to ancient times. But when we talk of the breakthrough “steam engine” in the eighteenth-century sense, we don’t mean a machine that exploits steam’s expansive, or pushing force. We actually mean a…
1779
Corn Cobs: Fuel of Nightmares
Earlier this year, in the bitter cold of Kansas winter, we began field testing our first scaled pyrolyzer, designed to process 10 tons of biomass per day. The pyrolyzer processed California wheat straw just fine. But now in Kansas, corn stover turned out to be a bit different. The bales not only had leaves and stalks…
1780
Helion Needs You
Helion has been progressing even faster than I expected and is on pace in 2024 to 1) demonstrate Q > 1 fusion and 2) resolve all questions needed to design a mass-producible fusion generator. ...
1781
A doctor who treated Bach and Handel with disastrous results
Dr. John Taylor treated Bach and Handel with disastrous results, perhaps causing the death of both composers. Did it impact the course of Western music?
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Thoughts on the potato diet
Nine observations about what happens when you eat only potatoes
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Why is there no semantic ontology of sentiment in academic citations?
About a million years ago, I was discussing the FOAF (Friend of a Friend) ontology with its early proponents. It allowed you to define a machine-readable semantic relationship like "Alice is married to Bill" and "Bill is Carol's child" and "Carol works for David". That sort of thing. At the time, all the FOAF…
1787
Physicists discover a “family” of robust, superconducting graphene structures
MIT physicsts identified new multilayered configurations of graphene that can be twisted and stacked to elicit robust superconductivity at low temperatures. The study establishes these configurations as the first known “family” of multilayer magic-angle superconductors.
1788
I should have loved biology
In biology class, biology wasn't presented as a quest for the secrets of life. The textbooks wrung out the questing.
1789
Once seen as fleeting, a new solar tech proves its lasting power
Princeton Engineering researchers have developed the first perovskite solar cell with a 30-year lifespan. The new device is the first of its kind to rival the performance of silicon-based solar cells. A pioneering new test method will help industry develop consumer-friendly products.
1790
Einstein-Bohr debate settled once and for all
In Steven Pinker’s guest post from last week, there’s one bit to which I never replied. Steve wrote: After all, in many areas Einstein was no Einstein. You [Scott] above all could speak…
1791
Seriously bright light vs. winter blahs
Most SAD light therapy lamps are not bright enough. How to get brighter light than any you can buy!
1792
Microrobots can brush and floss teeth in a proof-of-concept study
In a proof-of-concept study, researchers from the School of Dental Medicine and School of Engineering and Applied Science shows that a hands-free system could effectively automate the treatment and removal of tooth-decay-causing bacteria and dental plaque.
1793
Large Hadron Collider discovers three new exotic particles
The collaboration has observed a new kind of “pentaquark” and the first-ever pair of “tetraquarks”
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New study shows highly creative people’s brains work differently from others'
A new study led by UCLA Health scientists shows highly creative people’s brains appear to work differently from others;, with an atypical approach that makes distant connections more quickly by bypassing the “hubs” seen in non-creative brains.
1796
High-intensity exercise, some new news
Several months I noticed something interesting (to me!) about my heart rate, and I thought about blogging about it…but I didn’t feel like it would be interesting (to you!) so I’ve been hesitant. But then the NYT published something that is kinda related and I thought OK, what the hell, maybe it’s time for an update…
1797
How the US Air Force Ditched the Average and Saved Lives
The average is a myth. Understand the pitfalls of the average and how it can conceal useful information. How the US Air Force threw out the average and saved lives. Use distributions to better understand your data.
1798
Artificial photosynthesis can produce food without sunshine
Scientists are developing artificial photosynthesis to help make food production more energy-efficient here on Earth, and one day possibly on Mars
1799
MIT engineers fly first-ever plane with no moving parts (2018)
MIT engineers have flown the first silent, fuel-free “ion plane.” The light aircraft is the first plane to fly with no propellers, turbine blades, or other moving parts.
1800
Humans can't endure temperatures and humidities as high as previously thought
Penn State researchers found that the maximum wet-bulb temperature humans can endure is lower than previously thought — about 31°C wet-bulb or 87°F at 100% humidity — even for young, healthy subjects. The temperature for older populations, who are more vulnerable to heat, is likely even lower.